Does Microsoft make its employees shower after dealing with skeptics?
Here’s the report of the New York Times interview with a Microsoft mouthpiece about the documents stolen from Heartland:
…A spokesman for Microsoft, another listed donor, said that the company believes that “climate change is a serious issue that demands immediate worldwide action.” The company is shown in the documents as having contributed $59,908 last year to a Heartland technology newsletter. But the Microsoft spokesman, Mark Murray, said the gift was not a cash contribution but rather the value of free software, which Microsoft gives to thousands of nonprofit groups…
And according to the Financial Times:
… Some of the documents list donations or gifts from well known corporations, including $59,908 in 2011 from Microsoft.
The software group confirmed the figure but said it reflected the value of software Heartland obtained through a scheme for non-profit groups.
The amount represented a tiny proportion of the software supplied through the scheme and in no way suggested the company backed Heartland’s views on climate change, Microsoft said.
“We had 44,000 non-profits participate in the programme last year and we donated $844m,” said a Microsoft spokesman. He added, “We believe climate change is a serious issue that demands immediate worldwide action”…
Who would ever have thought of Microsoft clunkware as a contribution?
A lot of computer manufacturers do the same thing. They use it to boost market share, and to write off the expense (they determine the value/price/expen$e) as a tax-reducing charitable contribution. Sweet.